The SAMBO in School project — from Russia to the world

The SAMBO in School project now being actively implemented in Russia will soon be ready to enter the international arena. This was opinion of Veniamin Kaganov, Russia's Deputy Minister of Education, at the Moscow International Salon of Education (MISE).

The FIAS website has already reported that Russian schoolchildren will soon be able to practice SAMBO during physical education lessons or as an extracurricular activity. Active efforts are being made in the country to introduce SAMBO into the school curriculum. The starting date for this innovation is September 1, 2016. There was a lot of discussion at the stand of the Federal Center of Methodical Maintenance of Physical Education during the MISE about the progress in preparing schools, teachers, students and their parents for the appearance of SAMBO in the curriculum.

Nikolai Fedchenko, the Director of the Center, opened the session by noting the versatility of SAMBO. This quality makes it a great sport for students, because it helps develop different muscle groups and motor activity. He told the audience about the importance of SAMBO in the education system and the efforts of the Federal Center of Methodical Maintenance of Physical Education to implement this project, and also thanked the partners for productive teamwork.

Alexander Konakov, head coach of the Russian Combat SAMBO team spoke of the scale and need for the project in today's social environment, and familiarized the participants with the technical aspects of the sport that allow SAMBO to fit naturally into the school curriculum. He also explained that SAMBO in schools was not an elite sport, but a foundation for gaining necessary self-defense skills and making children more confident in life.

Sergey Tabakov, Executive Director of the International SAMBO Federation, who is one of the authors of the SAMBO in School project, presented a program-methodical complex for physical education of grade 1–11 students based on SAMBO, and showed video tutorials on training students in SAMBO techniques. He also spoke about the experience of introducing various sports in other countries. As an example, he cited Japan, where not only students, but also many adults, are actively involved in judo and sumo and in understanding the philosophy of these sports. The FIAS website has already reported that Tabakov was involved in training teachers for the SAMBO in School program at the federal level.

One of the teachers, who learned the art of SAMBO under the guidance of the FIAS Executive Director, took part in the work of the section. Elena Krokul, a physical education teacher at the Kurganinsky Cossack Cadet Corps boarding school, shared her impressions of the process of training physical education teachers to teach SAMBO, and said that SAMBO could become a favorite subject for many students. 

Oleg Polin, a physical education teacher at the Alexander Nevsky Karelia Cadet Corps boarding school, also shared his opinion, as well as the first results of introducing SAMBO in the school.

Elena Lomakina, Head of the Federal Resource Center for Innovative Development of Physical Education of the Federal Center of Methodical Maintenance of Physical Education, focused on the practical nature of SAMBO. It's a sport that can be used successfully for self-defense in difficult situations, which means that introducing it into the school curriculum not only helps in the physical development and education of children, but also makes them more secure.

Our favorite sport is the main subject at the famous SAMBO-70 school. Konstantin Biryukov, Head of the Guidance Department of the SAMBO-70 Sports and Education Center, shared his long experience in this area with the participants, and presented the history and results of the present stage of development of SAMBO-70. He talked about how the sport helped with studies, and about the ever‑increasing number of students who receive gold medals, not only for their achievements in competitions, but also for academic excellence.

Representatives of Krasnodar Territory and the Republic of Karelia talked about the first successful introduction of SAMBO in schools. There were also presentations by Konstantin Demchuk, Head of the publicly funded Center for Development of Physical Training and Sports in the Education System of Krasnodar Territory ...

... and Romuald Kemza, Deputy Director of Education at the Institute of Physical Education, Sports and Tourism of Petrozavodsk State University.

Lyudmila Pozdneeva, Head of the Department of Education of Gulkevichsky Municipal District, presented the results of organizational activities at the municipal level.

They talked about how students and their parents reacted to the innovation, as well as some typical questions that arise when SAMBO is introduced into the school curriculum. Regional representatives also shared their views on the program. According to school teachers and heads of local education systems, SAMBO helps keep children healthy and teaches them how to protect themselves and their families properly, which is very important in a complex modern world.

Young sambists Alexander Lomakin and Nikita Ivanov from Moscow's Record Sports School No. 114 gave a clear demonstration of what many representatives of the various parties associated with development of the SAMBO in School project were talking about.

In their performance, they not only showed SAMBO holds used by professional athletes, but also focused on the techniques that all Russian schoolchildren will soon be studying.

Not without the cornerstone, of course — self spotting or the ability to fall correctly. Without a special SAMBO mat on the floor of the VDNKh exhibition center, the young sambists showed how to land to avoid getting hurt.

Veniamin Kaganov summarized the work of the section. He said he was indebted to SAMBO: he practiced this martial art as a student, so he knows its benefits for health and overall development firsthand. Kaganov assured everyone that the Ministry of Education was actively supporting implementation of the SAMBO in School program in Russia.

He emphasized that it was about educating the younger generation, which has spiritual and moral values, in the culture of a healthy and safe lifestyle. Kaganov also expressed his deep conviction that this was the starting point for the introduction of SAMBO training programs in schools in many other countries.